Last night, it snowed here in Boulder! (Ok it wasn't much but it did Snow) Since both my wife and I commute, I was wondering what do people wear when it gets chilly? (Pants or tights

When the weather is cool I wear some type of athletic pants. When it's cold I add tights or long johns underneath my pants. When it's very cold with bitter windchill I wear my winter pants, which are good down to minus (-30) below zero...I never wear tights by itself when riding through public urban places, because it looks silly, stupid and out of place, I always hide them underneath my pants.

Oh, quit bragging;
I'm only 10 miles away and didn't get any.

I wear tights down to ~45F.
For temps below that, I have a pair of pants I bought from: Foxwear | Custom Sized Sports Outerwear | Made in Salmon, ID

I don't recall which material it is;
I just told them I wanted the warmest possible pants for winter.
It is a gray soft-shell material, and is so warm that my legs sweat like hell if I wear them above 50F.

Those AmFib tights are expensive, but delightful to use.

The prices at that Foxwear site are amazing. Especially since you say that they work!!

I've got it bookmarked. Thanks.

I think that depends partly on how far your commute is. My commute is just six miles (12 r/t). Once it gets cool enough that I'm not sweating on the way to work, I just wear my regular work clothes. When it is cold (for me that means in the 30s), I wear tights or leggings under my dress. I don't mean cycling or running tights, I just mean women's hosiery. If my dress goes down to my knees, and I have a pair of boots to cover my lower legs, I'm generally okay so long as I have a decent coat on and (most important) good gloves.

If you've got a long commute and need to wear cycling specific clothing, my advice is useless. Sorry.

I hadn't heard of this company before. Thanks for posting it.

They are great prices. I bookmarked it too.

I was used to wear cycling tights but now just my regular hiking pants that have enough stretch in them. I adjust warmth with different thickness of wool long johns. I don't look out of place anymore when i decide to stop somewhere on the way and pants allow to handle Canadian winter way better than my cycling tights.

Someone told me that military surplus, wool pants are the way to go. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Wool is excellent so worth considering. However, although I used to own a pair of military surplus winter wool pants and loved them, unless they are built right, your leg movement while biking might be restricted (I didn't bike in them, just walked). It'd be best to see how much movement they provide you before you purchase them. Also, keep in mind, especially if you currently don't commute in pants, that the pant leg needs to be tied up in some way to prevent it from being caught in the chain.

At this time of year, the snow may be wet so a water-resistant shell, especially on your upper body, might be sufficient: the water-resistance would also provide wind resistance and thereby reduce convective cooling from cool wind going across your body as you bike, this is the first change of clothing I make when moving from summer to fall.

Hi-Viz neon lime with wide reflective stripes is the outer layer a lot , these days..

Carhartt - Product - Men's High-Visibility Class 3 Waterproof Jacket

I try to wear shorts & just have layers on upper half, as my legs are big from muscles and get hot while riding. In situations where its too cold for shorts, i wear loose fit/baggy jeans. If it gets colder still, i put a hat under my nutcase helmet, then come the gloves, then jacket instead of button shirt over tshirt. If it's really, really arctic cold, i put on PJ/thermal pants under jeans & switch gloves. When the time comes soon to switch out my wardrobe i'll post photos of my cold riding stuff.

The coldest i've ever ridden it was -3. I had jeans, 2 pairs of pj/thermal, 2 pair of socks, 2 tshirts & a long sleeve under those, my triclimate jacket, thick n thin headliner, thick mets hat, and both pairs of gloves. I want to find some clear lens goggles for riding when its darker/night to protect my face a bit more from that temp air against my face, especially going 15 mph into a 10+ mph wind.

This is the thick n thin: Seirus Men's Thick N Thin Headliner - Dick's Sporting Goods Indispensable in cold temp riding & general winter outdoor use.


- Andy

I don't see them being as good for commute as wool long johns under hicking pants for several reasons:
-design? pretty loose at the ankle (chain can get stuck and cold air can get through). My hicking pants are narrower at the ankle
-water resistant? when it is raining for instance around freezing temp, you can end up wet pretty fast (though not a problem if you have some waterproof pants to put over these)
-versatile? i wear the same hicking pants nearly all year from 60F to -30F and adjust with wool layers. Wool pants have a low upper temperature limit, those are good when it is cold but may be too warm in spring or summer or when there is big temperature change between morning and afternoon
-hassle free? not very wind resistant and painful under windy conditions if you haven't tight up the pant leg. The fact that those aren't as wind resistant narrow the range of temperature for which they are comfy. But you can add layers under..
-style

the big plus of military surplus wool pants:
-very cheap
-long lasting
-very low maintenance
-(reflective) leg bands solve many of the problems cited above

I wear a gore-tex jacket and pants in the cold weather. They give me waterproofing and windproofing, and then I can layer up underneath as needed, usually wool long johns & sweater below about 10F. I also wear a tall enough pair of boots (or overshoes) that I can velcro the pants firmly around the top.

you need to go to the winter forum. there are tons of info. lots of Coloradans too.

I've found 40 degrees (F) to be my breaking point. Anything over this, I am still comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt. Under it I start adding layers. A hooded sweatshirt, shorts, and full-fingered gloves at 35 degrees is sufficient. The key for me is to make sure my feet, hands, and ears are covered. The rest of my body has extra, um "meat" to keep warm. Hands are covered by a pair of pearl izumi full finger cycling gloves I got out of a clearance bin at my LBS, ears are covered with a knit hat, feet are covered by one or two pairs of wool socks (depending on how cold it is).

Last February (temps well below 0 often) I just wore two pairs of tight-fitting sweatpants under my jeans, two pairs of wool socks inside thick soled hiking boot/shoes (my feet get cold easily), a hooded sweatshirt under a heavy winter coat, 3 pair of gloves (full fingered cycling gloves, cotton liner, and heavy winter), covering my ears in the bitter cold winds was a PITA I just wore a heavy ski mask with goggles over my eyes. It was a real challenge to motivate myself to ride since my commute back then as 25 miles one way but I had no other choice (my car was out of commission for the month). Although my commute has changed to a measly 5 miles one way, I don't think I'm going to be commuting much this winter.

I found a pair of old wool trousers for $3 at a thrift store and modified them into 'knicks' (solves the problems several of the other posters describe) and they're fantastic for temps in the 10-35 range when paired with long wool socks. Any warmer than 40 and they're too warm, below 10 degrees I add tights underneath.

Along those lines, here's the Nashbar Thermal Balaclava.

Last November, I bought that plus the Nashbar branded thermal skull cap and headband. I wear them in layers as needed, from 50 downwards, and they did well in the Georgia winter---last year low 20s. I don't know if they were on sale or prices just went up, but I paid $24.97 for all three. Coming from Nashbar, I'd bet they were on sale when I bought them.

World record

Leg/knee warmers

+1 on FoxWear.

I've got rain pants, heavy cold-weather tights, a vest and an earband. I'm very happy with all of it. I'm even thinking of getting a lighter-weight pair of tights to replace my PIs when they wear out. Also Lou seems like a great guy.

Nice! Mine has a smaller "face hole". The sides are just outside my occipital bone (quarter inch from eye socket), the top sits just above eyebrows, and the bottom can sit over my nose or on the front of my chin.

Cold:


Colder:

(i was planning to walk home & take wintery photos, hence the band and in a vehicle)

Coldest:

Note thicker mets hat, vest on top of triclimate jacket.

With any of these i put my pants and vest on last, because when i do that, the way it al works combined does not allow room temp air to keep me cool, but out riding i stay very comfy. The jacket by itself is actually fairly breatheable and decent worn indoors

- Andy

I love my cycling specific novara headwind pants

"Chilly" is about as bad as it gets around here. I've heard people refer to temps in the low 30's as "bitter cold."

That said, I've got several pairs of Bellwether ThermoDry Bib Knickers that I wear in the "winter." These things are so nice I get a little sad when it gets too warm to wear them. The fleeced inside is like comfy pajamas. Add a light jacket and some wool hiking socks and I'm ready for the coldest weather NW Oregon can throw at me.

+2 for Foxwear. Lou makes great stuff that fits well, and the better fit makes it warmer. It's not as fancy or finished as something off the rack, but you won't find the selection in the store like you will at Foxwear.